>> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw. >> these are some of the stories we will be covering in the next half hour. france and germany called for a separate budget to five european unemployment and a full-time economic sheet. >> the syrian president says the first shipment of sophisticated air defense systems has arrived in this country already. >> ahead of elections in iran, we catch up with an iranian academics who found asylum in germany.

>> new figures showed just how hard the debt crisis is hitting the eurozone's core. unemployment in france has hit a record 3.26 million. >> that's a jobless rate of well over 10% for what is touted as the bloc's second most powerful economy, and the new data up the pressure on president hollande. >> he has been meeting today with german chancellor angela merkel, and they have agreed on a range of measures to spark a recovery. they want a separate budget to fight joblessness across the bloc as well as a full-time economic chief with more powers. >> but hollande is a socialist, and merkel heads a conservative government, so do the two have big differences? >> it is no secret that the leaders of the eurozone's two biggest economies do not see eye to eye on several major issues in the eu, so a visit of the exhibition of german paintings

at the louvre was perhaps a chance for them to get to know each other better. at the talks held later, the two leaders put on a show of unity. they said their countries would weather the financial crisis together and would present a united front at next month's eu summit on growth and employment. >> much of our discussion was about mobilizing the european funds from 2014 through 2020. and including them in our future planning. >> they also pledged to press ahead with plans for a so- called common economic government in the eurozone. >> we need more coordination of our economic policies. that should be based on harmonizing our institutions to promote closer cooperation with n the europe group and other countries that would like to be included. >> as people all over europe are

being asked to tighten their belts, the french presidency has set an example, announcing it is to auction off more than 1000 bottles from its well-stock wine cellar. >> our correspondent was at the press conference between hollande and merkel. tell us what the main message was to come out of that meeting. >> they will present to the other eu members the idea that they should coordinate their economies and also tax policies closer, and for that, they also want a euro group president and regular meetings of the euro group. they also want a budget to fight unemployment, and they want to give priority to fight against youth unemployment. for that, the even want to have a special summit, and they have a lot of concrete ideas, such as giving credit to another european investment bank, so the small and medium european

enterprises have a chance to create new jobs. besides all this content, i think it is most important that they demonstrated unity. >> on that point, the world has been watching for a long time to see a united approach from europe. how united would you say france and germany are? >> well, they tried to look really united. it looked at the dinner and the visit and the exhibition of cost, that is for us, the media. it also shows there will to give up this tension as it was called before. also, they stressed in the press conference that they have responsibility for europe, and they are fully aware that they need to coordinate their politics and that they met today as a good sign already, and that the message is that the german/french engine should run smoothly to help europe's future. >> thank you very much. >> speaking to the press after his meeting with angela merkel,

francoise hollande pledged to carry a long-overdue reforms of the country's pension system and labor markets restoring the health of one of europe's major economies is a major priority as the hero tries to stabilize and get back on a path to growth. >> the leaders promised to speed up the disbursement of 6 billion euros in eu funds to fight youth unemployment, and hollande said france would stick to its objective of balancing its budget by 2017. to accomplish that, the government will have to give up some of its generous benefit programs. >> at lunchtime, this paris bakery is always busy. workers from local firms had to bakeries like this one where lunch is almost free. wherever they see this sign, they can cash in their food tokens. under french law, employers are obliged to provide a midday meal for their workers, and the whole thing is tax-free. mark uses at least one took a

day, worth 11 euros. he pays just three euros himself. his company pays the remaining eight. >> it is a real advantage. i go to the bakery and pay with a voucher. i only pay extra if i go over the limit. >> employees benefit, and so does the local catering industry, but at a huge cost to the state. one example of many, which analysts say france can no longer afford. >> the french are used to this kind of social welfare, but the system has to be financed, and reforms are urgently needed in view of the crisis and the aging population. >> the french economy is not growing. unemployment is at a record high, and the budget deficit is under 3% allowed under european rules. the average worker cost his employer about 35 euros an hour.

>> as far as unit labor costs are concerned, they've been climbing steadily in france. that has not been the case in germany. friends has failed to remain as competitive as germany, which has managed to lower its labor costs. >> that has made france less attractive to small and medium- sized companies. analysts say france has relied far too long on its automotive industry, and now the industry has hit a crisis. there is a lack of viable alternatives. >> we do not have an effective mid-sized sector. we have either got the big champions or very small companies, but if you want to be competitive today in the global market, you need this mid-sized sector that france does not have. >> the government of francois hollande is already on popular, so it is not clear if he will be able to push through the painful

economic reforms needed to put france back on track. >> eu countries who are members of the open borders agreement are to be given more room to maneuver when it comes to temporarily reintroducing border controls. >> and did the deal, countries would be able to introduce border checks for six months instead of the current 30 days when securities -- when security is deemed at risk. the measure, which has yet to be formally approved, will be extendible for up to two years. italy and france demanded the changes after an influx of refugees fleeing arab spring countries. >> the new airport which remains under construction outside the german capital berlin has been plagued by problems from the start. now the european commission may be about to add to those problems. at issue are the flight routes and their potential impact on the environment. the commission has opened an eu infringement proceedings because it says berlin changed the routes without analyzing the

environmental effects. germany has two months to respond. the airport is already way over budget and two years behind schedule. singapore airlines has announced plans to purchase $17 billion worth of new aircraft, and the carrier is splitting its order, buying 30 planes apiece from both europe's airbus and its u.s. rival boeing. very fair of them. >> singapore air says it is aimed at keeping its reputation as the market leader in the premium segment. the airline has come under growing competition from middle eastern carriers. the deal also includes an option to buy a further 20 planes from airbus. in more business, japan's nikkei index plunged by more than 5% in thursday trading. sharp sell-offs of the past week in tokyo has been causing jitters for investors. >> after weeks of record closings in markets around the world, many fear a big correction may be imminent.

>> japan's economy has been rising to new heights after years of sluggish performance. investors have welcomed the new government pose a policy of spending and the central bank's easing of interest rates, which have sparked a return to growth. since the start of the year, the benchmark nikkei index has risen by 1/3, making it one of the top markets. but gains over the past month have largely been wiped out. with the nikkei falling by 15% in the past week alone. some traders have been selling their shares to cash in while prices are still high. other investors fear that central banks both at home and in the u.s., will soon begin raising interest rates. that would likely send global stocks tumbling further. >> taking a closer look at thursday's market action, after yesterday's steep sell-off, investors in europe for once again in a buying mood.

our correspondent said as the summary of the trading action at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> worries about how much central banks might help the economy and the international stock exchanges in the future were a burden to the mood here at the frankfurt stock market's at the beginning, but then, economic news said the business climate had improved in the month of may and more than people here in the market had expected. good news. also good news was bad economic news from the united states. sounds a little bit paradoxical, but news from the labor market, for example, led people to believe that the u.s. economy is so slow that the fed, the central bank might have to help longer after all. the united states is number one, though, in competitiveness around the world at the moment. it regained the top spot according to a swiss study. germany is still the strong man in the eurozone. it is no. 9 worldwide among the

top 10. all the other eurozone members follow far behind. >> we say in frankfurt for a closer look at thursday's numbers. the dax finished the day up by 0.75%. euro stoxx 50 finishing up by nearly 0.5%. on wall street, the dow also looking pretty good. the euro trading a tad higher against the greenback added value of one u.s. -- $1 -- $1.339. bangladeshis tackling factory safety, the message from the nation's foreign minister who has been meeting with eu lawmakers in brussels. >> the european parliament it could provoke bangladesh's preferred trade status with the eu, which exempts it from duties or quotas. >> the minister says a booming clothing manufacturing in her country has meant the emergence of substandard factories and says consumers in the west will

have to pay a little more for their products to improve safety in the sector. >> over 1000 people were killed when a textile factory collapsed in april. most of the victims were workers making clothes for western fashion brands. it was not the first disaster of its kind in bangladesh. last november, a fire at another textile factory left 112 dead. the exits had been locked, and the workers could not escape. the owner of that factory appeared in court on wednesday. >> there has been an investigation, and those who kept the factory gates closed during the fire are hiding. they must be caught. i am the owner of the factory. i cannot hide. >> the bangladeshi foreign minister says safety standards have to improve. at a meeting with european lawmakers, she said implementing necessary changes would not drive up prices in the west.

>> it would be only 10 cents more for each unit of the 7 billion pieces that we will be exporting to our clients. i believe consumers in the west are ready to pay this modest increase or even a little more for the millions of women who stitch for them in a distant land. >> besides safety, workers' rights are another key issue. but the owners still forced their staff to go to work. >> tornadoes are relatively rare in europe, but on wednesday, a twister touched down near the italian city of milan. there were no injuries reported, but the tornado did cause some serious problems. the amateur footage showed a twist along the motorway. powerful winds overturned vehicles and uprooted trees, and some buildings in an industrial

area were destroyed. the lucky to get out of that one alive. that is pretty amazing. >> crazy. >> you are watching dw. stay with us. we have a lot more news coming up.

>> we continue our coverage of syria were the assad regime has been given a significant strategic boost days before an arms embargo on the country lapses. syria has received the first shipment of a sophisticated air defense system from russia. >> rush to deliver the system despite the western objections, saying move would help stem a lot to destabilize the imbalance. focus on the arms buildup spells trouble for a syrian peace

conference brokered by the u.s. and russia. >> there's no sign that moscow was backing down from its firm support for the assad regime. the syrian opposition's insistence on assad's departure and other departures was holding up peace efforts. >> one gets the impression that the national coalition and its regional allies are doing everything they can to prevent a political process from getting under way, and that includes manipulating public opinion in the west in order to bring about a military intervention in syria. >> russia oppose the delivery of anti-aircraft missiles seen here is aimed at helping the damascus government defend itself against any foreign attack. the united nations has criticized weapons shipments to either side and believes that only a negotiated settlement can end the conflict. >> there is no such military

solution in this case. i think only a political process can resolve this issue in a sustainable way. >> but the opposition have announced that they will not enter talks as long as massacres are continuing on the ground. the opposition also claimed fighters from hezbollah and iran are involved in conflict alongside regime forces. with opposition participation and the planned international conference still in doubt, a deal to end the fighting looks as far off as ever. >> still to come, we look at germany's embattled organ donations scheme. >> but first, here are some other stories in brief. >> scores of people have been killed in a series of bombings in baghdad. violence in iraq has surged in the last two months. estimates put the number of deaths this may at more than 500. among the highest since the u.s. withdrew its military

troops in 2011. the deputy leader of the pakistani taliban has been killed during an american ground attack. he died in the strike close to the afghan border. the insurgent group responded by withdrawing its offer of peace talks with the pakistani government. >> a new report by the united nations children's fund, unicef, says disabled children face an increased risk of abandonment and discrimination. the report calls children with disabilities the most marginalized in the world, in part because they often are not registered at birth. in some places, children with disabilities are even murdered in accordance with local superstitions. >> germany's president has pledged continued support for international tribunals in the hague. the promise came during his visit to the international criminal court. he's known in germany -- his role in german politics is

largely symbolic, and he called for increased protections worldwide, which is a central theme of his presidency. staying with germany and its organization system which still is feeling the effects of a wide reaching scandal 10 months on, a doctor falsified data about one of his patients in order to get a new liver faster, leading many to believe that their organs could be taken from them under dubious circumstances. >> since last year, germany's ordination -- organ donation rate has plummeted. the health ministry has scrambled to turn the trend around. >> what do an actor, two olympic champions, and a government minister have in common? they are all card-carrying organ donors. they are campaigning for more germans to join them. >> i personally do not think it would be right to have these valuable organs buried or

cremated with me if i'm declared brain dead. when i know that someone else could use them to stay alive. >> someone like siegfried. for three years, he has been waiting for a new kidney. across germany, 12,000 patients i listed to receive donor organs, but the wait is long, and about three of them die every day. >> organizations in germany are at a record low this year. amid a scandal in germany in which a doctor manipulated information to get his patient and organ faster. >> we know that the new laws will not allow an attempted manipulation like the one we saw. in fact, they make it impossible. it is no longer possible for one doctor to determine the criteria for receiving an organ or a patient pose a position on the waiting list. now cases must be reviewed by three doctors.

transplantation doctors make the decisions. >> germany's health minister says he is still angry about the scandal, which looks set to cost many patients their lives into the public's confidence in the nation is restored. >> in other news, a german government spokesman says italy has agreed to take back some 300 african refugees who were left stranded in the city of hamburg. italian authorities reportedly gave them 500 euros and temporary papers to leave. >> many of the refugees have been living on the streets since arriving in germany. where they have no right to work or any rights to social benefits. under eu rules, their country of entry is responsible for them. >> an iranian lecturer had to flee iran after her photograph mistakenly got used to represent an anti-government protester shot dead in iran in 2009. >> when she tried to clear of the misunderstanding, she was accused by iranian officials of

being a traitor to the country. she is hoping -- she applied for asylum in germany and got it. >> she is currently a university under a scholars at this program, an international initiative to promote the freedom of academics. >> we take a look at how life changed four years ago. >> she had her life turned upside down by a seemingly harmless photo on facebook. it all began four years ago in june 2009 after the disputed presidential elections in iran. protesters poured into the streets of the capital. the young university lecturer was not among them. she was back at the university. >> all the exams were postponed, but we as the administrative board in charge of the unit campuses and faculties -- we had to be at work, so i spent the day at my office doing almost nothing.

>> meanwhile, the protests escalated. one of the demonstrators was shot dead. the incident was caught on camera and soon watched by thousands on youtube. >> in a matter of 12 days from the day she was shot to death to the day i left iran, i went from being a nobody -- i mean, a quiet english scholar going around my work, doing my regular academic as well as administrative stuff, to a person who was charged with treason and had to basically and literally run for her life. >> the woman who was killed, shown here on the left, was studying at the university with a woman on the right was working. similar name, similar appearance. the mixup was complete. her facebook photo was circulated as that of the victim. she became the face of the opposition both at home and

abroad. she says the iranian secret service then decided to take advantage of the confusion using the fact that one woman was alive, but she refused to cooperate, putting her own life in danger. within two weeks, she felt forced to leave the country, applying for asylum in germany. >> i had really work hard to get to the position that i had back at home, but it was not only a question of losing my job. i lost everybody and everything that i had. >> once in germany, she wrote a book entitled "my still in phase." she received a scholarship as part of the scholars at risk program. -- entitled "my stolen face." that gave her an academic home,

but it was not the end of the story. >> i am still struggling for the basics of normal life. like many other iranians, hundreds of thousands of iranians who are living all over the world, all of us wish that one day we would have a chance to go back. >> she is an accidental erasure and critic, thanks to her face, which was stolen from her, and her struggle to reclaim it. >> next year's winter olympics in sochi, russia, will feature more intense than ever before. of course, that also means more medals. a record 1300 of them. now, the prizes for the 2014 games have made their public debut. the new designs feature traditional engravings from different parts of russia. the hosts say they hope russian athletes will be able to keep the good ones, the gold once,

made at home in russia. and scientists say they may be one big step closer to bringing the pre historic woolly mammoth back to life. that is after researchers announced a rare discovery of a mammoth carcasses in the remote ic islands of russia's far north. >> scientists were astonished to find liquid blood inside the other animal. that could be used to clone the creature, which scientists say was about 60 years old when it died between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. >> coming to a zoo near you. >> watch out, jurassic park. >> could be a bit warm. >> that is all for now for dw. stayed tuned for more news. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--